Tends to stand straight-up out of stance. Fails to display a snap in his hips off the ball. Lacks initial quickness, first-step.

Sloppy with his hands. Fails to consistently get inside position on defender’s chest plate. A grabber.

While he did pull some as an OG this past season, projects more as a reach and seal player than an athlete that can set the corner.

Not an ideal ZBS prospect.

Plays with poor leverage, compromising his overall strength. Plays weaker than he will likely test. Can get pushed around by strong bull rush.

Gets jolted back in pass protection due to poor hand placement. Defender able to get to his chest and knock him off balance.

Lacks the get off burst to create a real jolt in run game when asked to in-line block.

Appears uncomfortable when asked to block in space. While possessing enough speed to get to second level, often fails to complete assignment. Likely due to inexperience.

Loses balance more than you’d like. Ends up on ground quite a bit.

OVERALL:

After leaving Florida State (baseball scholarship) for academic reasons, Kyle Long began his college football career at Saddleback College in 2010. Much like his Hall of Fame father (Howie) and current NFL star brother (Chris), Kyle started his collegiate career on the defensive line. It wasn’t until 2011 that Kyle made the switch to the offensive line, and after one year of JUCO ball he transferred to Oregon to join Chip Kelly’s offensive machine. During the 2012 season, Kyle Long started at both tackle and guard. His NFL career will likely be at the guard position.

Standing at 6’6 and 304lbs, Long will be on the taller side of what NFL teams look for in an interior lineman. However, his short arms (32 1/8) and poor hand usage will limit his ability to be a successful tackle on the next level. In addition, Long’s lack of initial quickness out of his stance and tendency to stand straight up will make him a liability at tackle in pass protection.

Kyle Long needs a lot of work. He is a player with very little experience on the offensive line, and it shows on his film. While he flashes a nice combination of size/speed (linear), Long isn’t the most coordinated athlete in space. Often times, he ends up on the ground or takes a bad angle when attempting to complete an assignment on the second level. He plays with poor pad level and can get pushed around as a result of being a tall, open target for bull-rushing defensive linemen. Long needs to do a better job of sitting in his stance, keeping his back straight, and delivering a strong, initial punch.

Long displays adequate footwork when asked to shuffle and slide (tackle), and has enough athleticism to mirror a defender. However, his lacking technique leaves him susceptible to both speed and power moves.

The buzz around Kyle Long started peaking around Senior Bowl week, but after a thorough film review of the inexperienced prospect, it’s clear that he is a major work in progress that will take multiple seasons of coaching in order to ascend to a starting role. Long projects as a 3rd day prospect and career backup in the NFL. That said, if he ends up with an organization willing to be patient with the 6’6 ball of clay, he could emerge sometime around year 3 of his career.